B&ORHS Archives
B&ORHS Archives
5745 Bartholow Road
Eldersburg, MD 21784-1608
(directions & map)
Open most Thursdays 9AM - 4PM or by appointment
Email the Archivist: archives@borhs.org
The B&ORHS maintains an extensive archive and research library in a 9,800-square-foot former elementary school in Eldersburg, Maryland (about 35 minutes west of Baltimore). Purchased by the B&ORHS in 2016, the building is debt-free, has parking for 48 cars, and sits on 2.25 acres, which provides room for expansion.
The B&ORHS Archives contains extensive documentation from the offices of the Vice Presidents of Operations and Engineering from the B&O Railroad. There are also over 100,000 additional photographs, blueprints, maps, drawings, and publications related to the B&O in the collection. These resources are made available to historians, researchers, and model railroaders.
Note that the B&ORHS does not have B&O employee records in our collections. For information on genealogical or employee research, click here.
The below photos show some of the rooms and equipment within the archives facility, including the auditorium which can seat about 70; one of the work rooms, with dual screen computer monitors for cataloging data from the photos and documents in our collections; the library, which contains over 2,000 volumes of books and materials related to the Baltimore & Ohio railroad; the document storage rooms; our 48 inch wide digital scanner; and the display hallway.
Researching the Archives Collection
The B&ORHS Archives are open to the public for research on Thursdays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM or by appointment. There is no fee for researchers to conduct their own research in our archives, but we do encourage donations to support our preservation activities. To schedule a research appointment, email our archivist at archives@borhs.org.
Much of the collection is physically organized and cataloged digitally, while the content itself is not currently online. The Society uses PastPerfect collection management software for gathering and recording the information associated with the items in our collections. PastPerfect is used by many of the world’s leading museums for managing the acquisition, cataloging, search, provenance, and locations of our materials within the building. The program helps manage artifact, photo, document, map, and library items, while controlling access. It provides the means to search through the collections, based on common standard cataloging tools for museums and historical organizations. We have modified the nomenclature to suit the needs of a railroad historical society and are willing to share our experience with other societies. Contact it.mgr@borhs.org for information and our experience with the PastPerfect software.
Beyond our physical archives, additional information on model railroading and equipment lettering may be found on their respective pages on this website. Further information on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is available in our quarterly magazine, The Sentinel, and in other publications produced by the B&ORHS. Back issues of The Sentinel are available through our Company Store.
Research Requests & Fees
If you cannot make it to the Archives yourself, the Society does perform research at the Archives, per request, for a fee. Research requests submitted to archives@borhs.org or by letter will be reviewed by our volunteers. We ask that research requests include detailed specifics. Some of these questions can be answered by existing books or local knowledge. If that is the case, we will recommend the appropriate resource in response to the inquiry. We will respond to each request in an expeditious manner. Requests will be handled in the order in which they are received. You will receive an email acknowledging your request.
For questions that require in-depth research, we will provide an estimate of the time required to answer your question. Click here to view the Society’s research fees.
An invoice based on the Society's estimate will be sent to the requester. Upon receipt of payment and completion of the research, the Society will ship or send copies of the material fulfilling the request.
Volunteering in the Archives
The B&ORHS holds work sessions at the Archives during our regular opening hours (most Thursdays from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM). If you are interested in volunteering to help sort, store, and catalog our archival collections, please visit our Volunteer Opportunities page for more information on how to get involved.
Finds from the Archives
Here are some recent interesting finds from the materials cataloged at the Archives. These examples are some of the documents with stories of the B&O we are finding through cataloging the materials in our collections. Please see the Volunteer Opportunities page to see how you can join in the discovery process!